


The Sentinel

by FanficsbyVe



Category: Dark Souls III
Genre: Dark Magic, F/M, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 18:25:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7652002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fire Keeper dabbles into Yuria's inheritance to bring back an old friend. Follows Usurpation of Fire ending. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sentinel

**Author's Note:**

> This little brainfart of a fic was based on a trippy dream and theories on how Anri was resurrected, applied to one of my favorite darkhorses in the Soulsborne series. It sort-of ties in with "Monarchs of Men" and "The Royal Bed". Enjoy.

“Lady Seri, the knights have arrived.”

The Fire Keeper looked up from the many documents in front of her and turned to Irina. Without showing as much as a change of facial expression, she rose from her seat and made her way to the entrance of the Sable Cathedral, with the nun following close behind. The priests and priestesses quickly bowed their heads upon seeing her, signifying their respect. 

It suited her well, this church made of black stone and silver foundations. Once upon a time, it used to be a dark and foreboding place. A place where Kaathe and his servants herded the Hollows like sheep. It was the religious center of a decaying world that encouraged its followers to stumble in the dark and to never taste the pleasure of life, warmth and sunlight.

The Ashen One had desired nothing more than to destroy it, if only for the misery it had brought him and his beloved Anri. The Fire Keeper had talked him out of it. Tearing down a cornerstone of Londor would only incite chaos. Rather, she advised him, they should repurpose the Sable Church. Guide its people to a better purpose while maintaining the peace.

Thus, taking the blind nun Irina as a keeper of knowledge, she had assumed a position over as head of the Church. Undoing many of its harsher elements, she had quickly succeeded in making herself beloved by its followers. She had turned those dark halls from a devouring darkness into a soothing night and her silent machinations were quickly establishing a solid peace on the religious front.

Still, even now, the king and queen still had some enemies. Remaining Darkwraiths, former members of the Sable Church, foolish glory seekers who wished to seize power now the ending of the world was averted. Grey and Anri were doing quite well on their own, but she still felt they needed all the protection they could get. 

Still, where to find one’s true allies in an new, unknown age? Seri knew a king’s guard could not be appointed at random. Which was precisely why she was contemplating an alternate approach.

The knights bowed their head to her as well. “Mistress Seri, we have found the body thou asked us to search for at the Smouldering Lake. We retrieved it as per your request.”

A small smile came onto her face. “Excellent. Bring it inside, to my chambers in the highest tower. I will reward thee richly for thy labor.”

The knights quickly obliged and she quietly watched as they moved the coffin from the wagon into the church. She and Irina followed closely behind, watching the proceedings closely and ready to pitch in if help was needed. The knights, however, were strong and capable and within moments, the coffin was at its destination. 

Seri kept her promise. She reached into a hidden purse and provided both the knights with two golden coins. Her generosity stunned them and they profusely gave thanks many times over. She cast them a polite smile, saying they deserved it for their diligent work, and quietly watched as they departed once more. She then turned towards the coffin. Beside her, Irina’s unseeing eyes cast her a nervous glance.

“Are you certain about this, Lady Seri? If we do this, we will have to live with the consequences.”

She nodded. “Yes, I am quite certain. I have studied the knowledge of the sisters thoroughly. And we have what they did not. We have the Flame inside us.”

A while ago, as Seri oversaw the renovations of the Sable Cathedral, she had stumbled upon something fascinating. Irina had called her attention upon strange documents having been unearthed in the archives. Ancient knowledge, wielded by the late Yuria, Lilliane and Elfriede. The power to resurrect a deceased Hollow.

Seri had instantly become intrigued with this knowledge. At first, she thought of locking it away in the Church’s archives, to preserve but never use. Yet as she studied the scrolls and notes, her thoughts returned to Grey and Anri and their need for a loyal protector. A wild idea took hold of her mind and after diligently memorizing the knowledge, she came to a decision. If she could not be certain about the living, she decided she would turn to the dead.

“Let us remove the body from the coffin and restore it. We have much work to do.”

Irina nodded and the two of them opened the coffin. They then proceeded to lift out the body and place it on a nearby table. Not an easy task, as the body was large, armored and nothing but dead weight, yet after several moments of struggling, they managed to move it without incident.

Once it was on there, they started to remove the black armor piece by piece. A Hollowed corpse soon became visible. Seri smiled upon looking at it. Even though the Hollowing had marred the features, it fit the basic description she had issued. It was a tall male, standing six feet and five inches at least, muscular and with notable lesions on the throat area that remained highly visible even in death. That last feature made her practically certain this was the one she was looking for.

She and Irina then proceeded to clean the body. They patched up its many wounds, caring for it with the delicacy one would use to attend a babe. Part of Seri realized just how peaceful the man looked in death, no trace left of the violent way he met his end. It was almost as if he was sleeping. She grimaced. She hoped he wouldn’t be too upset with her waking him soon…

Once the corpse was properly prepared, the Fire Keeper took the scrolls and started to utter the strange words on them. She could taste the Dark in each syllable, each vowel inviting it to creep back into the cold, lifeless body in front of her. She called upon the primordial darkness, the Dark Soul, to return these corpse to the land of the living, that it might rise once more. 

As she spoke with utter deliberation, she could hear Irina gasp. She saw how the body become shrouded with black, as small tendrils seemed to burrow into the mummified skin. As it slithered inside, she could hear them wriggle around, as if to settle and find the strings to control its new puppet.

Within moments, the fingers started to twitch, soon followed by the arms and toes. The eyelids cracked open, revealing black pools behind them. The jaw pried itself open to release a guttural scream and while Irina screamed, Seri stood firm.

As soon as she finished her incantation, she drew upon the knowledge she had gathered on her own and started calling upon the Flame. Upon the fire that was now in all of humanity. She beseeched it to come upon this man, to nestle inside him and restore him. To return the blood to his veins and have his heart beat once more. 

Her calls were not in vain. Like with the Ashen One when restoring his bride, the Flame heeded her. It manifested itself amidst the dark shroud, burning brightly and all-consuming. For the briefest of moments, the corpse was set alight by the primordial Flame, only for it to seep into the pores of his skin to take up residency inside. 

The body started to change once it did. Its heat made the blood run, the light jerked the heart back into functioning. Bit by bit, the mummified appearance of the corpse started to lessen, as skin became smooth and color returned to its face. Its skeletal appearance wore off with each passing second, the changes so rapid the newly resurrected man didn’t even get the time to scream.

By the time both Dark and Light had left their mark, he could only lie there, worn and frightened. Yet his skin was pink and flushed, his chest went up and down as he breathed steadily and his eyes had returned to a natural brown color. He was alive again and the way he lay there, alarmed but alert and deliberately conserving strength, seemed to indicate he had come back with a sound mind. 

Irina merely stood there frozen, unseeing but listening, her face showing both horror and amazement at what they were able to achieve. The Fire Keeper shared those sentiments, yet she contained any outward show of emotion. She had a newly resurrected human being to tend to.

She cautiously approached the man. The moment he heard her footsteps, his head whipped in her direction. His eyes widened in shock and she managed a small smile, her voice gentle.

“Dost thou remember me, Horace?”

Horace didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he continued to stare at her. Without him even realizing it, his lips started to move. A deep rumbling voice, barely above a whisper, came forth from his throat, uttering the beginnings of a question about what had happened to him, only to fall into a shocked silence at the sound. 

Seri noticed it at the same time he did, raising her eyebrows. “Oh, thou camest back intact. This ancient magic is more powerful than I imagined.”

The Blue Sentinel just sat there, seemingly growing more panicked by the moment. He sat up and tried to move off the table, only to then realize he was in fact unclothed. Irina, sensing his distress despite not seeing it, quickly came to his aid with a large cloth. He eagerly took it from her and wrapped himself up in it. It then seemed to occur to him that the nun was familiar to him and he showed a brief and uncertain smile. 

It was there Seri saw her opening. She approached and gently put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched briefly, but she simply smiled at him.

“So thou dost still remember us. I know this must be really strange and frightening, especially simply hearing thy own voice again. Thou hast not heard it since thou wast a boy, as thou and Anri told us once.”

The moment she mentioned Anri’s name, Horace’s eyes lit up in interest and she continued. “Yes, Anri is still alive. She is well. Yet she misses thee deeply and is in need of thy sword and shield. Especially since she is now the most powerful woman in the land.”

The newly resurrected Blue Sentinel gave her a confused look and she chuckled. “Art thou hungry, Horace?” 

The change of subject had Horace frown, but he nonetheless nodded. Clearly, he was not yet comfortable using his voice again. The Fire Keeper nodded and turned to her companion. 

“Irina, can you find us a servant? Send them for some cooked pork ribs from the market, as well as something to drink. I think a full stomach would do a born again man well.”

The nun giggled at the way she put that. “Certainly. And what about the scrolls? Shall I return them to the archives or would you have them destroyed?”

She shook her head. “I wish to maintain them. At least until you are absolutely certain about what you think the fate of your Morne knight should be.”

Irina was quiet for a mere moment at that comment, but then quickly nodded and scurried away. The Fire Keeper was not worried about her. Despite her blindness, she knew her way around the Cathedral well enough now. Instead, she focused on the man in front of her, still wrapped in her cloth.

She had so much to tell him. So much had happened since he had Hollowed and the Ashen One had killed him in self-defense. The world was no longer ending and the First Flame no longer held sway over mankind. A new kingdom had risen in Londor, one that, through a set of unusual circumstances, his dear friend Anri was now Queen of. 

She would tell him everything, the good and the bad. The sacrifices that had to be made for this new world and the triumph because of it. She could only hope that he would forgive the Ashen One for nearly being deceived and that his wisdom and Anri’s love for him would be reason enough to accept him as his new monarch. That the ones who had ushered in this new age would have the friend and protector they deserved. 

She smiled at that thought. She could not think of a better person for the job. All she needed to do now was convince him.

“Make thineself comfortable as I relate the state of the world to thee, Horace. We have much to discuss and much work to do.”


End file.
